Your Front Row Seat To Americana Music
"Tempest," the cinematic new video from Nell Robinson & Jim Nunally Band, was filmed in the verdant climes of the Pacific Northwest, and marries the ancient beauty of the natural world with the age-old poignancy of roots music. The song itself is inspired by Michael Ondaatje's novel The Cat's Table. "True to his poetic soul,... Continue Reading →
Atlanta-based alt-country collective The Good Graces have been making jangly roots music for the last decade; more of a community musical collaboration than a band, The Good Graces are the brainchild of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kim Ware, and include a rotating cast of a dozen musicians, with a core group of players. The band... Continue Reading →
“One distinct memory I have is dancing around the living room to Brooks & Dunn when I was a kid, ‘Boot Scootin’ Boogie’ was my song,” laughs country roots artist Kayley Hill. Raised on a steady diet of The Dixie Chicks and Martina McBride, Hill developed a taste for country music and bluegrass acquired during... Continue Reading →
"I remember hearing this song first from a YouTube video of the Telluride House Band with Sam Bush leading the tune, joined by Bela Fleck, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas and Edgar Meyer. It was a burner!" says Michigan-based dobro master Mark Lavengood of "Ol' Slew Foot." "The energy was so high it was contagious." On... Continue Reading →
Philadelphia-based mandolinist Owen Lyman-Schmidt and bassist Bobby Szafranski met coincidentally and, as musically-inclined folks tend to do, started playing together. “We were a good musical fit, and I stopped looking for other players,” recalls the quick-witted dry-humored Lyman-Schmidt. “Speaking of fit, since there were only two of us, we were able to tour in a... Continue Reading →
“We grew up playing music, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that Ben and I started playing together,” recalls Zach Gage of appropriately-named, Ohio-based, rootsy string band The Gage Brothers. “There is five years’ difference between us, and most of our lives, we were more interested in picking on each other than... Continue Reading →
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”—no one knows that better than Matt Lorenz, a.k.a. The Suitcase Junket, who has taken trash to make musical treasure, and beautifully displayed it in his forthcoming album, Pile Driver, out April 21st. Lorenz has assembled 12 tracks showcasing his bluesy, fuzzed-out guitar—also a dumpster find—along with a host of... Continue Reading →
The Other Side, the second full-length album from Charlotte, North Carolina duo Sinners & Saints, is a roots lover’s brew of bluegrass, country twang, and folk. Filled with songs about drinking, love, heartbreak, and adventure, the album has a refreshingly vintage old-school feel. The duo of Perry Fowler and Mark Baran shines with the bright... Continue Reading →
Jay Farrar, through his various bands and exemplary projects, has become a purveyor of the great American songbook, like many great musical legends before him. As he brings his own unique flavor to the party, Farrar’s music has encompassed folk, country, garage rock, psychedelia, and now, blues-inspired stomp. Farrar’s forthcoming release, Notes Of Blue, from his... Continue Reading →
As Music City haunt The High Watt began to fill with attendees eager to experience Wisconsin-based bluegrass band Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, the lights above shone down onto the empty stage and illuminated a lone microphone in the center. The five-piece took their positions around the center, tuned up, and jumped right in with a quick-pacing bluegrass... Continue Reading →